Bee4 & After

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/09/bee4-after.html


Bee4 & After

Bee4 enlightenment, chopping wood & carrying H2O
After InnLight10Mint, chopping wood & carrying H2O



candelabras Yin & Yang

Zen (Japanese: 禅), the Japanese translation for Chan (Traditional Chinese: 禪; Simplified Chinese: 禅), is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The word Chan is itself derived from the sanskrit Dhyaan, which means to contemplate deeply. The Korean pronunciation of 禪 is Seon and the Vietnamese pronunciation of which is Thiền.
Zen emphasizes dharma practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. As such, it putatively de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct, experiential realization.
The origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to the Flower Sermon, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century. It is said that Gautama Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a dharma talk. When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up a flower and several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha's disciples, Mahākāśyapa, silently gazed at the flower and is said to have gained a special insight directly from the Buddha's mind, beyond words. Mahākāśyapa somehow understood the true inexpressible meaning of the flower. Thus, through Zen there developed a way which concentrated on direct experience rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Wisdom was passed, not through words, but through a lineage of one-to-one direct transmission of thought from teacher to student. (i did not 'know' this when i created this image~the kNOWn unkNOWn)

InnerPeace

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/12/innerpeace.html


Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great
many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that
people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions.
This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly
stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based
on past experiences.
* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
* A loss of interest in judging other people.
* A loss of interest in judging self.
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
* A loss of interest in conflict.
* A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
* Frequent attacks of smiling.
* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them
happen.
* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as
the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
WARNING: If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be
advised that your condition of inner peace may be
so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone
exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only
at your own risk. ~ Saskia Davis


The ProfundaPaz story

miRAcle

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/10/miracle.html


If we could see the miRAcle of a single flower clearly,
our whole life would change. ~ Buddha

Buddha image by joe cabaza

SilveRose

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2009/02/silverose.html





Light dances in images of delight before my eyes.~St. Columba

Veins

WEBdala

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/12/webdala.html


WEBdala1

In nature spiders earn our respect by constructing fascinating, well-organised webs in all shapes and sizes. But the beauty masks a cruel, fatal trap. Analogously, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has found a large galaxy 10.6 billion light-years away from Earth (at a redshift of 2.2) that is stuffing itself with smaller galaxies caught like flies in a web of gravity. The galaxy is so far away that astronomers are seeing it as it looked in the early formative years of the Universe, only 2 billion years after the Big Bang.

WEBdala2

Spider Woman appears in the mythology of several Native American tribes, including the Navajo, Keresan, and Hopi. In most cases, she is associated with the emergence of life on earth. She helps humans by teaching them survival skills. Spider Woman also teaches the Navajos the art of weaving. Before weavers sit down at the loom, they often rub their hands in spider webs to absorb the wisdom and skill of Spider Woman.


WEBdala3

According to the Hopi, at the beginning of time Spider Woman controlled the underworld, the home of the gods, while the sun god Tawa ruled the sky. Using only their thoughts, they created the earth between the two other worlds. Spider Woman molded animals from clay, but they remained lifeless. So she and Tawa spread a soft white blanket over them, said some magic words, and the creatures began to move. Spider Woman then molded people from clay. To bring them to life, she clutched them to her breast and, together with Tawa, sang a song that made them into living beings. She divided the animals and people into the groups that inhabit the earth today.


WEBdala4

Another Hopi myth says that Tawa created insectlike beings and placed them in the First World. Dissatisfied with these creatures, Tawa sent Spider Woman to lead them, first to the Second World and then to the Third World, where they turned into people. Spider Woman taught the people how to plant, weave, and make pottery. A hummingbird gave them fire to help them warm themselves and cook their food. However, when sorcerers brought evil to the Third World, Spider Woman told the people to leave for the Fourth World. They planted trees to climb up to the Fourth World, but none grew tall enough. Finally, Spider Woman told them to sing to a bamboo plant so that it would grow very tall. She led the people up the bamboo stalk to the Fourth World, the one in which the Hopi currently live.

hmmm, interesting...I just got your beautiful webdalas...I've been working on the next blog and yesterday found the most amazing spider web image I plan to use w/ my current salon...you will be tickled to see the application...anyway, great minds spin like webs I guess! Love, Michelle (Here's Michelle's original web)



Salon #23: "Just Sitting Between a Dalek and the Tardis, Watching Musical History".
"When you sit in the midst of music, when it is given as a gift…you are sitting in a space between the forces of evil and chaos and the gift of suspended time, timelessness…
As for the spiderweb - that’s what music is to me, and this particular salon. A web of sound, of sharing, of wishing-you-were-here and making it so!"

WEBdalafireFox

FireFox Logo design

BlossOMs

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/10/blossoms.html


Bee free as the wind blows,
as the flowers blossOM,
in the unimpeded Light.
~Daitsetz Teitaro Suzuki



blossOMdahlia

Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (鈴木 大拙 Suzuki Daisetsu, October 18, 1870 – July 12, 1966, (The Buddhist name "Daisetz", meaning "Great Simplicity", was given to him by his Zen master Shaku Soen) was a famous Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in spreading interest in both Zen and Shin (and Far Eastern philosophy in general) to the West. Suzuki was also a prolific translator of Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit literature.



blossOMRAflower

The Samurai class into which Suzuki was born declined with the fall of feudalism, which forced Suzuki's mother, a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, to raise him in impoverished circumstances after his father died. When he became old enough to reflect on his fate in being born into this situation, he began to look for answers in various forms of religion. His naturally sharp and philosophical intellect found difficulty in accepting some of the cosmologies to which he was exposed.



blossOMrose

Suzuki studied at Tokyo University and simultaneously took up Zen practice at Engakuji in Kamakura studying with Shaku Soen (1859–1919). Under Shaku Soen, Suzuki's studies were essentially internal and non-verbal, including long periods of sitting meditation (zazen). The task involved what Suzuki described as four years of mental, physical, moral, and intellectual struggle. He described this life and his own experience at Kamakura in his book The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk.



blossOMZENnia

Suzuki married Beatrice Erskine Lane, a Theosophist and Radcliffe graduate, in 1911. Later Suzuki himself joined the Theosophical Society Adyar and was an active Theosophist. He and Beatrice founded the Eastern Buddhist Society; the Society is focused on Mahayana Buddhism and offers lectures and seminars, and publishes a scholarly journal. Besides teaching about Zen practice and the history of Zen (or Chan) Buddhism, Suzuki was an expert scholar on the related philosophy called, in Japanese, Kegon – which he thought of as the intellectual explication of Zen experience.
Suzuki was especially interested in the formative centuries of this Buddhist tradition, in China. A lot of Suzuki's writings in English concern themselves with translations and discussions of bits of the Chan texts the Biyan Lu (Blue Cliff Record) and the Wumenguan (Gateless Passage), which record the teaching styles and words of the classical Chinese masters. It was Suzuki's own view that in its centuries of development in China, Zen (or Chan) had absorbed much from indigenous Chinese Taoism. Suzuki believed that the Far-Eastern peoples had a sensitivity or attunement to nature that was acute, by comparison with either the people of Europe or the people of Northern India. He was also interested in how this tradition, once imported into Japan, had influenced Japanese character and history, and wrote about it in English in Zen and Japanese Culture. Suzuki also took an interest in Christian mysticism and in some of the most significant mystics of the West, for example, Meister Eckhart.
Suzuki subscribed to the idea that religions are each a sort of organism, an organism that is (through time) subject to "irritation" — hence, showing the capacity to change or evolve. It was Suzuki's contention that a Zen satori (awakening) was the goal of the tradition's training, but that what distinguished the tradition as it developed through the centuries in China was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists. In India, the tradition of the mendicant (holy beggar, bhikku in Pali) prevailed, but in China social circumstances led to the development of a temple and training-center system in which the abbot and the monks all performed mundane tasks. These included food gardening or farming, carpentry, architecture, housekeeping, administration (or community direction), and the practice of folk medicine. Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Zen had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.

KAchinas

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/07/kachinas.html


WarriOrrwOManCano

The KAchinas were photographed by Joe Cabaza. This one is his favorite. The KAchinas are John Isaac Antiques, 323 Romero St. Albuquerque, NM 87104-1400, 505-842-6656 KAchinas are the Spirit messengers of the Hopi Pueblo People and the spirit essence of everything. The greatest gift they bring is happiness, good health, and a long life. The Warrior Woman shown here, represents a warrior spirit. This KAchina can be a man dressed in women's clothing or a woman using men's equipment depending on the mesa where one hears the story. Despite the differences in the folktales, she is a very potent warrior. Because she is so potent, KAchina guards are often called upon to protect certain ceremonies from her dangerous presence. The background was made from a photo of light reflecting on pavement.
KAchinas (also spelled Katsina, the plural "katsinam") exist in Hopi and in Pueblo cosmology and religious practices. In Hopi, the word KAchina (Katsina or Qatsina) means literally "life bringer", and can be anything that exists in the natural world or cosmos. A KAchina can be anything from an element, to a quality, to a natural phenomenon, to a concept. Within Hopi mythology, the KAchinas are said to live on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona. The most important Hopi KAchinas are called wuya.


WarriOrrwOManSorceress

Among the Hopi, KAchina dolls are traditionally carved by the uncles and given to uninitiated girls at the Bean Dance (Spring Bean Planting Ceremony) and Home Dance Ceremony in the summer. The function of the dolls is to acquaint children with some of the many KAchinas.


KunmingKAchina

The Zuni believe that the Kachinas live in the Lake of the Dead, a mythical lake which is reached through Listening Spring Lake located at the junction of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado River. BTW, the background 4 this KAchina was shot at Kunming Lake in China.
The Corn Dancer (shown here) is one of the most popular KAchinas for both dance and song, as well as function. He is a prayer for the fulfillment of a good corn harvest, the staple food of the Hopi. He and the other Plant KAchinas literally bring their own water to the dances because without water there would be no corn or plants, and without corn or plants there would be no Hopi.


BearCloud

White Bear Katsina is Qotsa'honaw Katsina representing leadership. Most of the Hopi Village leadership comes from the Bear clan, who are responsible for much of the Hopi Religious functions.


BearBlu

White Bear appears during the Katsina night dances in March and also during the day Katsina dances.


SpiritBear

He can be part of a group of Bear Katsinam or can appear singly with the Mixed Katsinam. They are very powerful spirit beings. The Bear Clan Kachinas are very powerful and considered to be great warriors. They are also healers, capable of curing bad illnesses.

Cernunnos

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/03/cernunnos.html


cernunnos
The Legend of St. Hubert

Hubert, the oldest son of the Duke of Aquitane, was born about year 656 in what is today called France. As a youth, Hubert was handsome and strong. Since battles were fought with bow and arrow, he soon learned the archer's art. Riding and hunting, especially stag and deer, occupied most of his time. Because of his charming manner, Hubert held a prominent postion among the courtiers and seemed to have given himself up entirely to the pomp and vanities of the world. His mother, a devout woman, prayed for him constantly.
At the age 26, Hubert married Floribonne, the daughter of Count of Louvain. She made Hubert conscous of his duties to the Church and by her example, he began to change, losing many of his worldly habits. After a little more than a year of marriage and the birth of a son, his wife became ill and soon died. Hubert was filled with grief and soon fogot his promise to be faithful to the Church.
On Good Friday, Hubert rode out of the castle alone with bow and arrow to try to lose his sorrow in hunting. At that very hour the faithful were gathering for the Way of the Cross, but Hubert still wanted to go hunting. After more than an hour, a stately stag with high antlers came toward him. Hubert prepared to kill and as he looked again at the the fearless animal he saw a radiant crucifix between his antlers. As Hubert stared in amazement, a voice broke through in solemn silence, "Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down to hell!" Hubert dismounted, knelt on the ground, and asked the Lord what he should do. Having received a command he followed it joyfully. He gave guardianship of his son to his brother. Hubert became a priest and eventually was consecrated bishop. He prayed, fasted, preached, and converted thousands to the faith, often attracting them by his expertise with the bow and arrow.
One day in the year 726, while at prayer, Hubert was given a vision of his death and his place in heaven. Happily he waited and after a few days he became ill and died, with the words of the "Our Father" on his lips. St. Hubert was honored during the Middle Ages as the Patron Saint of Hunters and is still known today as the "archer saint". His feast day is observed on November 3rd.

OM

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2007/10/om.html


OM
Amazing how the rose image in the mandalas seems jewel-like...
I'm so fascinated that you move back and forth from working with radiant colour to b&w this way, so adept in each. Love what you are doing!~SpiritBear

Concentrate on OM in the heart centre as though it is like a candle flame the same size as your thumb.~Dhyana Bindu Upanishad


OMdala1

Let OM be the bow, mind the arrow, and Higher Consciousness the target. Those who want enlightenment should reflect on the sound and the meaning of OM. When the arrow is released from the bow it goes straight to the target.~Dhyana Bindu Upanishad


OMdala2

The eye with which I see God is the same as that with which He sees me.~Eckhart

OM is the primordial throb of the universe. It is the sound form of Atma (Consciousness).~Maitri Upanishad~This mantra OM indeed represents Brahman (the Absolute). It is the highest. Those who know its meaning and worship it attain the supreme goal and know everything.~Katha Upanishad


OMdala3

Fire, though potentially present in firewood, is not seen until one stick is rubbed against another. The Atma is that fire; it is realized by the constant awareness of the sacred mantra OM. Let your individual personality be one stick and OM the other. Thus you will realize your real nature, which is hidden within just as fire is, in a sense, hidden in cOMbustable materials.~Sweteshwatara Upanishad

O Arjuna, I am the taste of pure water, and the light of the moon and the sun. I am the essential nature of the mantra OM mentioned in the holy scriptures, the sound in ether, as well as the courage and virility of human beings.~Bhavagad Gita verse 7.8


OMdala4

The mantra OM symbolises Reality. At the time of death, repeat OM and you will go forth frOM the body and attain the Supreme Goal.~Bhavagad Gita verse 8.13


Reality is a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is no-where.~ Ancient Hermetic Statement


Shree YantRA, the GeOMetric Form of OM.

Chaos

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/03/chaos.html


chaos

In mathematics and physics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain nonlinear dynamical systems that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect).

StarDalas

http://lightdances.blogspot.com/2008/07/stardalas.html


stardala

A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma. For most of its life, a star shines because thermonuclear fusion in its core releases energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space.


stardala1

Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and many other properties of a star by observing its spectrum, luminosity and motion through space.


stardala2

A star begins as a collapsing cloud of material composed primarily of hydrogen, along with helium and trace amounts of heavier elements. Once the stellar core is sufficiently dense, some of the hydrogen is steadily converted into helium through the process of nuclear fusion.


stardala3

Binary and multi-star systems consist of two or more stars that are gravitationally bound, and generally move around each other in stable orbits. When two such stars have a relatively close orbit, their gravitational interaction can have a significant impact on their evolution.
stardala4

Good morning starshine, the earth says hello
you twinkle above us, we twinkle below
good morning starshine, you lead us along
my love and me
as we sing our
early morning singing song
gliddy glub gloopy nibby nabby noopy
la la la - lo lo
sabba sibbi sabba nooby aba naba
lee lee - lo lo
tooby ooby wala
nooby aba naba
early morning singing song


stardala5

Good morning . . .
gliddy glub gloopy . . .
Singing a song, humming a song
singing a song
loving a song, laughing a song
singing a song
sing the song
song the sing
song song song sing
sing sing sing song
song song song sing
sing sing sing song